Ma'at, The Cyber Thief
by ScarredCrow
Summary: Genius orphan Erin Hicks has always been good at what she does. The only problem, what she does ends up making her steal from herself. It also gets her into some serious trouble with the famous Tony Stark. When the road gets rough do you just turn around and go home, or do you risk everything for the unknown that lies ahead?
1. Introduction

Erin Hicks woke at her desk. She was already an hour late for school but she wasn't worried about it. She was a brilliant student and ready for far more advanced classes than the ones provided at her school. However, it had been hard enough to get into the one she was in. It had taken a lot of donations and fake emails to convince the school that her parents were… there.

But they weren't there. Erin's mother had just packed up one day and left, leaving her three year old genius child to fight for herself. She did, of course, or else there would be no point in telling you this. However, the way she chose to make the money to survive was not on the top of most people's dream job list.

Erin got up and got ready for school, not bothering to even bring the useless weight they call a textbook.

When she arrived at the school, the halls were silent and the classroom doors were shut. She waved at the attendance worker who smiled and shooed her to her class. Erin walked in the room to find the T.V. on with every student's eyes glued to the screen. She rolled her eyes, assuming it was the ridiculous news broadcasts that the school made but she froze when she heard a reporter announce,

"Once again, an anonymous character known only as _Ma'at_, the Egyptian concept of justice, has hacked into the bank of the one and only Tony Stark. Stark declared he was on the lookout for the thief that has stolen thousands of dollars from him. If I were you, _Ma'at_, I'd watch your back."

Just as the reporter was finished, a tall dark man strode into the room. "Hicks," Fury said simply. Erin nodded and followed him out. _This can't be good_, she thought.

Fury led Erin into the principal's office. He sat her down in a chair and went to stand next to a young man while Principal Jennings paced the room. Erin sat quietly, tapping her foot and smiling, despite the fact that these two strangers were staring at her. Finally Jennings stopped moving and spoke up. "Miss Hicks, this is Director Fury and agent Parker from S.H.I.E.L.D." Jennings glanced at Fury's menacing eye patch and began pacing again.

"Do you know why you're here, Erin?" Fury sighed, taking control of the interrogation. She shook her head innocently. The young man with Fury, Parker, whispered something into his boss's ear and Fury nodded. "Yes, I think it would be best if we contacted your parents." Before she could stop herself, Erin sat up in her seat, objecting, "No you can't—I mean they're out of town." Fury nodded, catching her mistake. "Well, they left you a way to contact them if there is an emergency, yes?"

Erin looked up into his eye and shrugged, defeated. She knew she couldn't win. "Well yeah. But I left it at home. Didn't think I'd need it since phones aren't allowed at school anyways." Fury smiled. "Mr. Jennings, we will escort Miss Hicks home." And with that, he led her out of the school and into a black, discouraging car.


	2. Chapter 1

Tony Stark landed around three in the afternoon. Ma'at had stolen from him for the last time, he had decided. Jarvis had been working on tracing Ma'at's signal for weeks and had finally found it. He planned to arrive at the address and speak to the thief himself. S.H.I.E.L.D. had offered to help him with the search, but the last thing he needed was the government mapping out his every move.

He would do this his way.

When he found himself on the front porch of the house in question, he was so excited that he pounded carelessly on the big, white door. Very much to Stark's surprise, a teenage girl opened the door to greet him wearily. She had long, flaming hair that had obviously been died more than a few different colors. Her face was adorned with several piercings and a dark tattoo poked out of her shirt.

She stood there staring at him with her black eyes. Stark shook his head, regaining his thoughts and asked the girl, "Hicks?" She nodded. She raised a medal studded eyebrow in question and he quickly introduced himself. "I'm Tony Stark," he announced. "I'm looking for your parents." She smiled, amused. Then realizing she'd done something wrong, she beckoned him in. The inside of the house was as beautiful as the outside except for the fact that there was writing all over the walls. _The poor kid must be crazy_, Tony thought. It looked as though she was the only one living there. Her things were everywhere.

He followed the girl into the living room, which was full of computers and other electronics. "What's your name kid?" he asked. She turned around abruptly, the bottoms of her black leather boots squeaking slightly on the hard wood floor. "Erin," she replied simply. He looked into the abyss in her eyes and saw a bit of his own ridiculous humor there. Shaking his head, he turned to see if Erin's parents were there. "They aren't here," she said. He sighed, shrugging. "I can wait. When will they back?" She shrugged. "They're on a business trip somewhere in Europe and have been for a few days. I'm not sure when they'll be back," she replied casually, as though that was a regular thing.

Tony's eyes widened. _The latest signal had come from this address yesterday_, he thought. _But that means_… He turned around to see Erin studying him. _She's the thief_.

Fury rode away with a new interest in the child Erin Hicks. She hadn't confessed anything but he had a strong feeling that she was involved with the robberies. Parker, his young companion, seemed uneasy. "What is it?" Fury asked. Parker shook his head, unsure on how much he should say. "It's just—did she seem worried at all to you, sir?" Fury smiled, understanding the boy's concern. "No, she didn't. She _is_ Ma'at, Parker. She's just been doing this for so long that she's gotten good at hiding it." Parker's jaw dropped. "But, sir! If you it was her, why did you let her go?" Fury shrugged.


End file.
